Architects and West Philly residents Anu Mathur, center, and Dilip da Cunha, right, talk to community members about plans for the proposed pocket park on 40th Street on Tuesday night at the Rotunda.

Architects and designers of the proposed pocket park on 40th Street unveiled preliminary plans on Tuesday that included permanent collapsible tables down the center and a variety of ground and wall surfaces to make the long, thin strip of land along a busy commercial corridor inviting for everyone in the neighborhood.

“How do you include everybody?,” landscape architect and West Philly resident Anu Mathur asked about 20 community members gathered at The Rotunda to provide input on the plans. “These are words we use, but how do we actually do that?”  Continue Reading

A pocket park for culture and community is coming to this empty lot on 40th street between Chestnut and Ludlow.

West Philly-based non-profit Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture has been exploring the idea of creating a pocket park for culture and community on a vacant lot nestled between Chestnut and Ludlow streets on 40th street. Local developer UC West has dedicated this lot to be a publicly accessible pocket park, and Al-Bustan has been selected as the lead community partner. Since May, the organization has hosted a few public forums to gather input from community members – business owners, homeowners, renters, elderly, students, and more.

The next meeting to discuss the future of the pocket park will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 21 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut St) from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. This meeting will be a first look into design possibilities for the park.  Continue Reading

The City is ready to unveil the green infrastructure improvements at Malcolm X Park. New green tools installed at the park will manage approximately 84,000 gallons of stormwater runoff from surrounding streets each time the neighborhood gets an inch of rain.

The reconstruction of the sidewalks around the perimeter of the park also included planting nearly 30 new trees that are specially designed to hold enough stormwater to fill three water tanks the size of SEPTA buses. These trees will filter millions of gallons of captured runoff over the course of a year.

A special ribbon-cutting event with the participation of City officials and representatives of neighborhood organizations will take place tonight (Wednesday, Aug. 2), beginning at 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a free concert featuring Tony “TNT” Jones & Beyond the Dream as part of the bi-weekly Jazz Heritage Series.  Continue Reading

“Love Your Park” week will be held from May 12 – May 20, and residents are encouraged to join over 2,500 fellow Philadelphians to care for our parks and green spaces at 70 different locations across the city. You can sign up to volunteer at a spring service day in your neighborhood park or to participate in a special event, such as a bird walk, outdoor yoga, guided hike, children’s story time, and many others. Here’s a list of volunteer and special events in West and Southwest Philadelphia (to register for an event and learn more about Love Your Park Week, go here).

Philly Pumptrack Spring Service Day

Saturday, May 12, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Philly Pumptrack, 52nd St. and Parkside Avenue

This Love Your Park event includes trash cleanup on the Crossbow Trail, pumptrack dirt and clay work; and rain garden cleaning, mulching, and planting. And stick around for the Pumpjam special event that begins at Noon.  Continue Reading

Here’s a great way to celebrate the longest night of the year. The Woodlands (40th and Woodland) will be hosting a special Winter Solstice bird walk on Thursday, Dec. 21, from 4 – 6 p.m.:

“Celebrate the Winter Solstice by exploring The Woodlands with Toribird, our resident birding expert! Toribird will lead a candlelit bird walk from 4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Then enjoy Center Circle after dark and create bird themed crafts by our firepits. Seasonal treats, music, and activities will take place until 6:00 p.m.”

Sounds like fun. More information can be found at woodlandsphila.org.

“Love Your Park” Fall Service Day has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4 with thousands of volunteers stepping outside to help clean and prep city parks for winter. There are many beautiful parks in West Philly that need volunteer help as well this Saturday.

Cedar Park Neighbors’ Park Committee is looking for a few volunteers for Love Your Park Service Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: “Come out to meet your neighbors, enjoy the cool fall weather, and help beautify Cedar Park! No gardening experience is necessary. Gloves, tools, and refreshments will be provided.” Walk-ins are welcome, but advance registration is helpful. RSVP by e-mailing contact@cedarparkneighbors.org

Fall cleanups will also take place in Clark Park (43rd and Chester), Barkan Park (50th and Spruce), Saunders Park (39th and Powelton), Malcolm X Park (51st and Pine), and other local parks. Check out the map of parks here and register to volunteer here. Registration closes Friday, Nov. 3 at noon.